Red River’s history is filled with tales of living in the high country during the winter months. From the early days when the town was founded in 1895 to the first 20 years of the 21st century, the stories are colorful and sometimes humorous accounts of survival and perseverance, testimonies to the rigors of life at 8,000+ feet.
The mining boom in the Red River Valley began in the spring of 1895 when “rainbow chasers” streamed into the area. Panning for gold in the swiftly flowing streams, bank full with the cold runoff from the past winter, soon gave way to hard rock mining and the digging of mine shafts, tunnels and glory holes in the delightful summer weather.
Soon, however, the chilly north winds and the first snows on surrounding peaks saw the departure of those who had no desire to fight the drifting snow and bitter cold of winter in the mountains. Some evidence did exist that a few cabins were built over mine shafts to allow work to continue all winter, but no reports as to the success of such determined efforts exist.
Fleeing to milder winter climates in places like Taos and Raton, and returning when the snow melted in spring, was a common practice for many years. Even after the mining boom gave out and tourism became the new way of life, many locals still wintered over in warmer climes, spending only summers in the mountains.
The late John Brandenburg was a longtime Red River resident and a member of one of the town’s pioneer families. He didn’t know who had the thought to create a place to ski but the idea gained encouragement (and finance) from a group of Raton businessmen, the 20-30 Club, who liked the novel idea. With great fanfare, a skiing area was created near the site of the current Red River Ski Area and included a rope tow powered by a horse. No sooner had the area opened than words of the Japanese attack on the US Navy base at Pearl Harbor began to filter in.
The first Ski Area in Red River opened and closed on the same day: December 7, 1941. The US was at war.
Tillie Simion and her young son moved to the high country in the mid-1930s. Her husband Tony was a coal miner and took a job at the Moly Mine downstream from Red River. When he was fired, he moved the family to town. Tillie liked the cool summers, but wasn’t fond of the snowy winters.
In 1934 Tony turned their cabin into a cafe with Tillie doing the cooking. With the first liquor license in town, Tony soon built a bar and cafe on main street. (The building is the Motherlode Saloon in 2020.)
During winter months, Tony and Tony Jr would cut large blocks of ice from tourist camp lakes and store them under sawdust for cool drinks for summer visitors.